As Jacksonville begins its search for the team's next head coach after sending Jack Del Rio packing, one name reportedly is picking up steam.
"The Jaguars ... need someone who can sell tickets," ESPN's John Clayton reported Tuesday. "Dallas Cowboys assistant coach Rob Ryan could be near the top of the list."
Other possible candidates, according to NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora, include interim coach Mel Tucker, former Falcons and Seahawks coach Jim Mora and Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. Solid options, but none of those names guarantee the instant national attention Ryan can pull in, if that's a quality to which the franchise is attracted.
"The Jaguars," according to Clayton, "could be persuaded that Ryan can do what his twin, Rex, did with the New York Jets: establish a tough defensive mentality and create an environment in which players believe they are winners."
The Q rating of the Jacksonville franchise exists somewhere just below Carrot Top and Punky Brewster. With just two head coaches in franchise history, the Jaguars from the start sought the type of consistency displayed by their old AFC Central rivals, the Steelers, but keeping Del Rio around for eight-plus seasons didn't net the intended results.
The shakeup has arrived, with the franchise facing a pending sale and new spheres of power forming at a rapid clip.
Whether or not Ryan is destined for the lead role in Jacksonville -- or anywhere else in the NFL -- he brings a type of moxie this way-off-the-radar team might desire.
